Baka Music

I was born in Africa. The Baka Music & Magic – The Technology of Enchantment documentary reminds me of growing up in the rainforest.

So who are the Baka? The Baka are one of many indigenous groups living in the tropical rainforests of the Congo basin. …they were called Pygmies… In spite of their wide distribution they share certain core values: egalitarianism; reliance on the forest for food medicine shelter and spiritual well-being; and an extraordinary aptitude for music.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=237

…like all things Baka, although there are underlying rules, or rather underlying patterns, they will always only use them as a guide and do their own thing.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=605

These rhythms may sound unfamiliar to us, but the Baka start to learn them before they learn to talk. In fact they start to learn them before they are born. … Once born, the immersion in rhythms and melodies continues. Music is learned in the same way as language. No one actively teaches, but as in most things, the Baka learn by observation, imitation and repetition.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=669

This is the secret – the music won’t work without everyone working together.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=809

Children are constantly honing their musical abilities by using their listening skills…without any explicit instruction. Imitation is actively encouraged with praise so all learn to participate without any judgment to their abilities. Explicit inter-generational teaching is rare although it does happen during initiation.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=1124

There is no Baka word for just music. The word “Bé” encompasses music, dance, and the rhythm, and sometimes the theater that joins it as well. It becomes a technology of enchantment producing a mystified sense of delight and wonder, creating an uplifting and joyful atmosphere. People, animals, and the forest all feel this.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=1454

Being so tuned into the sound of the forest means you’re in a constant conversation with it. Turning part of the conversation into song charms the forest.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=1843

In Baka cosmology all elements of the environment are interconnected. The forest is listening to its inhabitants, and vice versa. … The overall kaleidoscope of sound is a real-time representation of what is going on at that precise moment. Any changes are reflected in the sounds. All sentient beings reacting to the sounds and silences of the others. This is the voice of the rainforest that tells you everything you need to know, and being part of this soundscape enables you to affect what happens.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=2173

[The Baka] see themselves as agents interacting with other natural agents in nature rather than as subjects in a society somehow outside of nature. Music, dance and ritual can all be treated as modes of communication on a continuum from non-verbal to verbal…
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=2286

The focus on words when discussing language is due to our modern bias to lexical expression. If everyone speaks at once it can be confusing, but if many people sing together their message is reinforced. In speech one body communicates, in music many bodies do. … That feels so good because it achieves that feeling of maximized participation when everyone is in that communion of the moment.
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=2431

They have an ambiguity as to where a rhythmic pattern starts. … Not only does this make it unclear who is leading and who is following, but also makes the individual parts only make sense when part of the whole. This increases the sense of communion. … The way these elements are combined create the technology that can enchant those present, making them become one with each other and one with the forest around them. Through the music and dance they become one body…
https://youtu.be/zb0z0yOdY5E?feature=shared&t=3582